The Casecracker Suite
by wifeofxasonnex
Summary: Nick and Sara have to go to a teambuilding conference that is not what they expect.
1. Chapter 1

The Casecracker Suite

Written By Wifeofxasonnex

Insert Standard Disclaimer

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic. I consider it a charming piece of fluff--what CSI would be like if it were a sitcom. I call it "CSI-lite." This probably takes place some time during or after the fifth season--when Catherine is working as Nick's supervisor

"Sara!" Grissom yelled when he saw her walk past the door to his office. He scrambled to his feet and scurried toward her.

She paused in mid-step and turned to face him. Rarely had she ever seen Grissom appear so eager to talk to anyone, let alone herself. "What's up, Grissom? Usually you can wait for me to clock in."

"I just wanted to tell you that you and Nick will be on a special assignment."

Sara's pulse escalated when she heard those two final words. She had been slaving away for years just hoping for any opportunity to better herself and expand her knowledge base. Could she actually be receiving a nod from her superiors? She strained to keep her voice from revealing her girlish excitement. "Special assignment?"

"Yeah. There is a team-building conference that will be held at the Tangiers over the next two weeks. I've discussed the matter with Catherine and we've decided that you and Nick would be great representatives for our lab."

Sara was visibly disappointed and she felt slightly offended. "You want to send Nick and me? Why? We work really well together already."

"I know that," Grissom said gently, "Catherine and I feel that you and Nick will be able to bring back with you much more valuable information than two people who have no experience working as a team. You may be able to teach all of us advanced techniques in teamwork and your insights will be much more…well…insightful."

Sara rolled her eyes. She was not at all amused by this situation. "Has Catherine told Nick about your brilliant idea?"

"WHAT?" They both heard Nick say from down the hall.

Grissom smirked, "It sounds like she just told him. She should be sending him over this way to meet up with you. The orientation begins in about twenty minutes."

"You guys are sneaky. You're really sneaky. You were sure not to allow us any time to challenge this."

"Actually, Sara," Grissom said as he lowered his eyes, "Catherine and I just discussed this about an hour ago because the memo had been buried under some papers on my desk and I had forgotten all about it."

"I'm going to get you a set of 'in' and 'out' boxes for Christmas, I swear."

"Why?" Grissom said, his puzzlement evident in his expression, "I don't need them. I know where everything important is on my desk."

"Hey, Sara," Nick said as he approached the pair, "Are you ready to go?"

"I guess. I mean, I just got here so I didn't have time to put anything down." Sara gestured at her jacket and knapsack. She started to walk away with Nick and then turned to face Grissom. "Your not off the hook for this just because I have to leave right now."

Grissom raised both hands to indicate his surrender.

"Names, please," a young red-haired woman said from behind a table.

"Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle," Nick replied.

The woman made two check marks on her list. "You may pick up your name tags at the table next to the door of the banquet room."

"Banquet room? Is there food?" Sara asked eagerly.

"There may be a little left," the woman replied, "The doors opened about forty-five minutes ago, so it's probably been picked through."

"Great," Sara said to Nick as they turned and walked toward the name tag table, "How very Grissom. Of course he wouldn't even give us enough advanced notice so that we could have a chance to nibble on some food before the torture begins."

"Well," Nick said, "I'm gonna try to enjoy myself." Sara shot him a glare. "Spare me the daggers and look at it this way: we're getting paid for this and it'll really show Grissom and Catherine what we're worth if we make the best out of this situation."

"It would also make them feel better about sending us to this thing and that's something that I'd rather not do."

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," a short, middle-aged woman said from behind the podium that was situated in the front of the banquet room, "My name is Andrea MacElroy and I am a choreographer with the Louisville Ballet. I, with the assistance of a few local ballet instructors, will be using ballet over the next two weeks to help you build teamwork skills and trust.

"If you'll notice, there is an equal number of men and women present tonight. This is because you will all be learning and performing a Pas de Deux, which is a dance between a man and a woman.

"Traditionally, men in ballet exhibit strength and agility while women represent grace and beauty. The male lifts the female into many different positions and she is left to trust him entirely. The idea is patriarchal to say the least and the role of the woman as a delicate and trusting creature is a little out of place in a work environment, yet it is instructional in a way. This is why I believe that through actually learning and performing a Pas de Deux, you will discover the balance of the male and female roles in everyday life and be able to apply this to help freshen your perception of events in the workplace.

"Also, ballet is very physically demanding. Your partner will need your emotional support when the physical demands become too great. You will learn to trust your partner to be there for you, to not drop you on your head or kick you.

"Everyone will take home something different from this exercise and I look forward to hearing about these things from each of you as you perform in our little recital. That is all for now, you may enjoy some refreshments."

The audience applauded as the woman stepped down from the podium and took a seat at a nearby table.

Sara took a wine bottle from its place in the center of the table and poured her third glass. After gulping half of the glass, she turned toward Nick and said, "Do you think that Grissom and Catherine knew what we would be doing here?"

"I don't know," Nick replied, "If they did, though, I feel kind of flattered that they think that we could step up to the challenge and do well."

"Damn you and your optimism, Nick!" Sara was obviously becoming a bit tipsy, "Did you not think that perhaps they picked us for the opposite reason? That perhaps they may want to make fools out of us?" She drank the rest of the wine out of her glass and reached once more for the bottle.

Nick intercepted her hand and held it gently, "Sara, as little as you may want to believe this, Grissom and Catherine have a lot of respect for you--and me, too. If they knew what this was about, I know that they chose us because they felt confident that we would do well based on our physical abilities and our--ahem--excellent teamwork skills."

Sara pulled the corner of her mouth into a handsome smirk and Nick smiled in return. He pulled his hand away from Sara's, but not before she noticed that it had stayed there for an extra beat. He had gone beyond simply preventing her from pouring one too many glasses of wine, he had held her hand.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

"Nick, that is so awesome for you, man!" Greg exclaimed from the other end of the phone connection.

"Don't you mean 'humiliating?'" Nick replied as he took a seat on the bed in his hotel room and offed his shoes.

"No. I mean awesome. Just think about it, Nick. You and Sara will be getting very close to one another. I mean, have you ever seen a ballet before?"

"Not really," Nick admitted, "My dad took us to see _The Nutcracker_ once, but I didn't pay attention because I thought that ballet was for girls."

"Well the men and women get very close when they dance. You'll get to touch Sara all over, man! Not to mention getting to see her daily in a leotard and tights! You have a camera phone, right?"

"Yeah. I upgraded last month. Why?"

"Please send Archie and me some pictures. Sara is so hot!"

"Greg! I will do no such thing!" Nick scolded, "We're doing this exercise to build trust. It would go over like a lead balloon if I sent you secret pictures of Sara. I could probably even lose my job--just because you and Archie want to beat yourselves off to the vision of Sara as a ballerina? No way, man."

"Cool it, man," Greg said, laughing, "It was a joke."

"Well…since you were only joking, I'll tell you this: we're going to do a recital in two weeks where we'll share what we've learned through our experience and perform our dance. It's open to our co-workers, so you and Archie can feast your eyes when you see Sara in person a week from Friday."

"I will mark my calendar. I am _so_ there, man! I'll even mark Archie's, too. I do not want to miss this."

"Whatever, man." Nick paused. "Look, I'd better get some rest. We have three hour-long ballet classes every day this week--and if ballet is what the woman who spoke at the conference said that it is, I'm going to be half dead by Tuesday."

"I'll talk to you later, then."

"Bye, Greg."

"Bye."

Nick flopped onto his bed and let out a pregnant sigh. Ballet! He simply couldn't put away that thought.

There was a knock on his door.

"Hi, Nick," Sara said after Nick had opened the door to his hotel room, "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Not at all," Nick said as he gestured for her to enter his room, "What brings you up here?"

Sara took a seat on the bed and crossed her legs. The bathrobe she was wearing opened slightly to reveal a long and slender thigh. Nick couldn't help looking at it.

"You know me," Sara said, smiling, "I can never sleep. I thought I'd sneak up here and see if you were awake, too." Sara started laughing and laid back onto the bed. "It's really funny, how thrilling the experience of sneaking up here was to me. When we would go on field trips in school, I'd always fantasized about what it would be like to sneak up to the boys' floor. Did you ever wonder about that?"

"I knew what it was like. Us boys always tried to peep in on the girls in their rooms. We were hoping to see them in bathrobes, but we only ever saw them in pajamas. I had never actually gotten to go _inside_ a girl's room, though."

"Now you have a girl inside your room wearing a bathrobe!"

"Yes, I do," Nick said with discomfort.

"Can you believe how great these rooms are?" Sara asked as she rolled over onto her stomach and propped her chin on her hands.

"They are pretty cool--especially since we're not investigating a death in one of them."

Sara laughed heartily. "So do you think anyone has died in either of our rooms?"

"Wow," Nick stated plainly and then laughed, "Now I'm really not going to be able to sleep here."

"Nick," Sara said, feigning shock, "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

"A little," Nick said as he turned away from her, "I only feel nervous if I'm staying in a place where someone died."

"I can make you forget your fears," Sara said as she stood and approached him from behind. He turned to see her wearing only her bra and panties with the bathrobe bunched next to her feet.

"What are you doing?" Nick exclaimed. His eyes darted uncontrollably from one part of Sara's body to another. He couldn't believe how good she actually looked. She had always worn form-fitting clothing, but he couldn't see her creamy skin underneath those clothes.

"I'm seducing you," Sara said slyly. She grasped the back of Nick's neck and pressed her lips against his. He was unable to resist Sara. He wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss.

Sara moaned softly. She broke this kiss and began removing his clothes, kissing his bare skin as she exposed it.

Nick gently pushed Sara away from himself and laid her on the bed. He lowered himself on top of her and began kissing her neck and the exposed portion of her breasts.

"Oh, Nick," Sara said breathily, "I want you right now."

"You've got me, baby," Nick said as he unfastened her bra, "You've got all of me." He removed her panties and began kissing the inside of her thighs.

Sara ran her fingers through Nick's hair. She leaned forward to kiss him. Then, he pulled himself away and went for the kill.

Nick awakened, panting. That was his third sex dream about Sara in that week. He got out of bed and paced the floor, waiting for his erection to subside.

He had always found Sara attractive, but he had more respect for her than to treat her as a sex object as he had in that dream.

Isn't a sex dream really just symbolic of love? He asked himself. He knew that Freud's interpretations of dreams weren't worth the paper they were written on, but he did believe that, in much less convoluted ways than those outlined by Mr. Freud, his dreams did tell him what his waking mind was unable to admit. In this case, he was learning that he was falling in love with Sara.

Author's Note: I just wanted to say "thank you" to those who have already reviewed my work. I am honestly surprised by how encouraging a few reviews can be. Be on the lookout for chapter three (hopefully coming relatively soon)!


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning, everyone," Andrea MacElroy said in front of the group who was gathered for breakfast, "While you are eating your breakfast, I thought that you might want to see some examples of the choreography that you will be performing. I have choreographed three distinct dances. They are all fairly simple to learn, but they still look very beautiful when they are performed.

"The youngsters who are going to be performing are students from Western Las Vegas University. They all participated in an amateur ballet club that was formed last semester and so they will show you just how well novices can perform ballet.

"After their performances are over, you will need to make a pit stop at the tables next to the exit. There, you can pick up the shoes that you registered for last night and check them for sizing. Let me note parenthetically, however, that if your shoes feel just a bit tight, you will not necessarily need to change sizes because the leather will stretch to fit your feet.

"You will also be given the letter 'A,' 'B,' or 'C' to indicate which dance you will perform and at which times your ballet lessons will occur.

"Eat well and enjoy the show!"

Sara and Nick joined the rest of the group as they applauded the two young dancers who took their place at center stage. Sweetly melancholic music played as the two dancers began moving.

Nick watched the dancers for a few moments. They do look like they know what they're doing, he thought to himself.

He felt encouraged.

After a few seconds, however, he found himself bored. He figured that ballet must be like baseball: it's at least slightly entertaining if you're the one doing it, but not very fun to watch.

His eyes wandered toward Sara, who appeared mesmerized. Images from his dream the previous night flashed through his mind, causing him to feel a little uncomfortable. He shifted his eyes quickly back to the stage and glued them there. He thought it best to avoid sexual thoughts about Sara. After all, he was going to be working in very close proximity to her over the next few days. He hoped that the work involved with learning ballet would keep him busy enough so that he would't feel too frisky around Sara.

Sara glanced over at Nick during the final performance. He seemed to her to really like ballet and she was impressed by that idea.

She turned her attention to the rest of the performance and gave all six dancers a standing ovation when the show was over.

"I'll race you to the 'S' table," Nick said as all of the individuals who were gathered at the conference began sifting toward the exit.

"You're on!" Sara said as she took off in a dainty trot.

Nick almost immediately passed her and kept up his pace so that he would be the person in front of her when they reached the line. "I won," he stated triumphantly.

"Nick," Sara said with a toothy grin, "This is a teambuilding conference. As they say, 'There is no "I" in "team."' Our _team_ won. We work together."

Nick laughed. "Well, there may not be an 'I,'" he said slyly, "but there is an 'm' and an 'e.' And who's in front of you, Sara? Me!"

"What are you, twelve, Nick?"

"Plus twenty-one."

"What?" Sara looked at Nick as though he had grown two extra heads.

"I'm twelve plus twenty-one…I'm thirty-three."

"Oh," Sara said blushing at the thought of being outsmarted, "That's really stupid, Nick."

"Yeah, well…so is your hair."

"Once again: What?"

"Well I didn't want to actually insult you, but I wanted to have a comeback."

"And some comeback it was…You're turning into Greg, Nick, and it's not pretty. You didn't benefit at all from your move to swing shift. I guess Greg is just that pervasive, isn't he?"

"I'm hurt, Sara," Nick said with a frown, "That hit was below the belt."

"And calling my hair stupid wasn't?"

"Names?" The woman on the other side of the table said, looking slightly annoyed.

"Stokes and Sidle," Sara replied.

The woman consulted her list and then went to the shelves of shoes.

"I'm sorry if I insulted your hair," Nick said, sounding genuinely concerned, "I actually think that your hair is really pretty. I think that the highlights that you had a few years ago were a mistake, though. You're too perfect as a brunette. You don't need to waste your time with hair dye."

The woman returned with two small boxes. "Here are your shoes," she said rather brashly, "You are in group 'B,' which means that you will be performing the second dance that you saw today and your ballet classes will be at 11:00, 3:00, and 7:00 every day this week. Also remember that you are required to attend at least one teamwork lecture each day."

Sara and Nick both nodded as they turned to leave the table.

"I'm not really angry with you, Nick," Sara said as they stepped into the hallway, "I just thought I'd enjoy a little playful banter. Since we switched shifts, I haven't really had the chance to argue with you much and I've missed it because it is very amusing."

Nick shook his head and then consulted his watch. "We have a little over an hour before our first lesson. What do you want to do while we wait?"

"I don't know," Sara said as she casually looked at the paintings that lined the hallway, "I suppose that we could go shopping for dance clothes. Today we have a grace period because we need time to shop, but we're expected to dress out tomorrow for our lessons. I'll want to have at least two leotards and we'll have to find something for you to wear."

"I suppose that's true." Nick sighed. "I'm going to look like such an idiot. I don't know anything about ballet."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm so glad that we decided to take in the lunchtime lectures," Sara said as she and Nick exited the dance studio to board the shuttle van for the return trip to the hotel, "Because I haven't felt like doing anything at the end of the day but lying in a hot bath so far this week."

"I know what you mean," Nick said, rubbing his calf muscle in an attempt to relieve and ache, "And there are four more days of hell this week, not to mention all the time we'll spend next week practicing our routine." He sighed and shook his head. "I've got half a mind to check into a cheap motel with a hot tub that I can use."

"That's a pretty good idea," Sara exclaimed, grabbing Nick's arm, "I'll go in halfsies! I even have my swimsuit in my room! We can meet in the lobby at around nine and decide which motel to use."

"Whoa, Sara. I only said that I have a half a mind to do that. It doesn't mean that I actually would. I doubt we're even allowed to do that."

"Listen to you: 'allowed.' Nick, we're grown people. I'm sure we're '_allowed' _to do whatever we want in our free time. The others have probably been hitting the casinos or taking in floor shows. We're townies, so we shouldn't be expected to be interested in those activities. We should be able to do something else."

Nick did want a little time alone with Sara so that they could relax and get to know one another outside of a work setting. So far in the conference, they had been either too busy or too tired to spend any free time together. Though he felt a little uncomfortable with the sexuality that is associated with hot tubs, he had to admit to himself that hot tubs do create a great environment for candid conversations. Since the erotic dreams had made him acknowledge the existence of his romantic feelings, he had wanted to find out more about the enigmatic Sara Sidle.

"Okay, Sara," he said as Sara excitedly clapped her hands, "We can see about finding a room. I'll do all the grunt work and call the different motels and find out about their rates."

Sara smiled smugly. "I knew that you'd break down," she said, "I knew that your legs had to be crying at least as loudly as mine."

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Sara felt as excited as a teenaged girl getting ready for the prom. She felt excited about wearing a bikini in front of Nick.

She had found Nick attractive when they had first met and she had flirted with him quite unabashedly in the years between that time and the present, but she had never felt that anything would actually come of it. She had never felt any hints of interest emanating from Nick.

Since the conference began, she had felt different vibes from Nick. He seemed nervous to be around her and he was more touchy-feely when he talked to her. He had held her hand at the opening reception and he threw his arm around her waist when they approached the shuttle van for their first lesson of the morning. While on the van, he would touch her knee or her arm as he spoke.

Something was certainly going on in the development of their relationship and Sara was just as excited as she could be.

She felt as though she had maybe jumped-the-gun a bit when she had leapt at the present opportunity to get alone with Nick. But, she thought to herself, how could I expect another opportunity to arise before the end of the conference?

She turned on the water in the shower and brushed her hair as she waited for it to warm. When the temperature felt right, she removed her sweaty dance clothes and threw them into the far corner before entering the shower.

The water was blessedly warm as it ran its course over her fatigued muscles. She had remembered that ballet was a challenge, but she did not remember ever being this sore after her lessons. To her credit, of course, she had never taken three hours of ballet lessons every day for three days in a row.

The memory of her ballet lessons felt pleasant and was welcome. Her mind's eye could see Roberta James standing in front of the row of mirrors, demonstrating proper technique. She wished that she could have lived with Roberta for a longer time so that she could have learned more. He older body felt clumsy and it tired easily. Perhaps with a stronger background she would have been able to remember more and endure more--but "what-ifs" only waste time and make one feel sad.

Sara refused to feel sad that night. She saw for herself an opportunity to at least render Nick speechless with her good looks if not determine the direction of their relationship.

As she dried herself and donned her swimsuit, she thought about how Nick would look at her. She admitted that her breasts were not the largest, nor were they the perkiest. However, she had been focusing on her abs and legs when she went to the gym and they were just to die for (at least she thought so).

She pulled her hair back into a french twist and allowed some of the short layer in the front to fall on each side of her face to frame it. She lightly dusted on some powder foundation and brushed on a small amount of blush to enhance her glow.

She threw on a button-up shirt and tied it at the bottom to show a little of her midriff above her faded blue jeans.

She knew she'd knock Nick's socks off when he saw her and that made her smile as she approached the elevator doors.


	5. Chapter 5

Nick paced nervously in the lobby of the Tangiers Hotel. He was beginning to rethink the whole idea of getting into a hot tub with Sara. He didn't want to make things uncomfortable between Sara and himself, but he didn't want to miss out on a chance to really get to know her.

His ringing cell phone interrupted his racing thoughts. "Hello."

"Hey, Nick," Greg said from the other end of the connection, "How's the ballet thing going?"

"It's actually okay. I'm doing better than I thought I would."

"Oh?" Greg sounded amused, which made Nick wince. "So are you graceful and everything?"

"Well I'm doing okay at the barre work. That's really most of what we've been doing. The instructors want us to have good control and form before we begin learning choreography. We'll start learning steps tomorrow."

"So is Sara any good?"

"Yeah, she is. It's actually surprising. She catches on way faster than everyone else in the class. She's a natural."

Sara walked up behind Nick and heard this last statement. She smiled at the thought that Nick was proud of her.

"Soooo," Greg said and giggled excitedly, "How does Sara look in a leotard?"

Sara grabbed the cell phone from Nick's hand and put it up to her own ear. "How do I look? Don't be silly, Greg. I look _gorgeous_. Would you expect any less? Now my question for you is why do you talk so damn loud into the phone? I could hear you from five feet away from Nick! Haven't you ever heard of a six-inch voice? You don't hold the phone more than six inches away from your mouth, do you?"

Greg laughed nervously from the other end of the connection and Nick snickered under his breath. Sara's comments were sometimes cutting, but they were often true.

"You know," Sara said to Nick, "There is nothing that is much more annoying than a person who screams just because they're talking into a phone. It can be deafening." She directed her speech back into the cellular phone's microphone. "Anyway, _Greg_, we don't have time to talk to you. Somewhere there is a cheap motel with a hot tub room that is calling our names and we're going to try to figure out where the voice is coming from. You can bother Nick later." She pulled the phone away from her ear and hit the "end" button. Nick could only shake his head as she returned the phone to him.

"Sara," he said, "Why did you have to go and do a thing like that? Now Greg's going to go spreading it all around the lab when he goes on shift tonight and then Ecklie will find out and we will really be in trouble."

"Nick, you've got to stop worrying. We'll be fine. We can justify our trip by calling it an exercise in building trust."

"How so?" Nick's tone of voice made his incredulity obvious.

"Well, there are a lot of sexual connotations to both cheap motels and hot tubs, right?"

"Yeah." He still did not sound as though he were buying into Sara's thinking.

"We're trusting one another to have the proper intentions going into this thing."

"I guess you're right about that." He trailed off for a moment. "And once we get to the place, you'll really find yourself hoping that you can trust me."

"Oh?" Sara put on a mock-inquisitive smirk. Then she widened her mouth into a grin. "Is the motel really bad?"

"You'll find out when we get there," Nick said in a teasing tone. He led the way toward his truck and pulled out his keys. "It wasn't the cheapest motel that I called, but for reasons that I'm sure will become known to you later, I had to choose it over all of the others." He opened the passenger door and Sara climbed inside. He went to the driver's side and entered.

"Nick, I hate being left in suspense! You _must_ tell me before I implode!"

Nick smiled as he started the engine. "Sara, I only want to preserve for you the experience of finding out about this motel in person. I know that it has to be better than stumbling over it in a phone book or hearing about it from someone else."

"Fine, whatever," Sara said as she turned on the radio. Country music blared through the speakers. She looked over to Nick, her forehead wrinkled with disgust, only to find that he was singing along. She quickly changed the station to one that played rock music.

"…your faith! It's real!" sang a scratchy voice. Sara rolled her eyes.

"I cannot escape that new Foo Fighters song, I swear!" She turned down the volume and thought that she should answer the question that was raised in Nick's eyes. "Their newest single is kind of annoying and you hear it _every thirty minutes_. I like them as a band and I enjoy nearly all of their other songs and at the end of the day, I will probably buy their newest CD, but I feel that the world would be a better place if they had decided not to record this song. It's too dumbed-down, I think. I'm really glad that they're still successful and everything, but I really just dislike this particular song."

"I think it's kind of catchy." He tapped on the steering wheel in time with the music.

"Yeah. Well. Nick," Sara said choppily, "You like country and, therefore, cannot be expected to have taste in music."

"Have you never heard the phrase, 'don't mess with Texas?'"

"Have you never heard the phrase, 'kiss my ass?'"

"Sara, I don't want to have to kill you and go to hell over a difference of opinion about a song, but I'll do it if you make me."

"Oh, Nick. Shut your flappin' yapper!" Sara looked around at the scenery they were passing. "Is this place outside of the city? How much longer do I have to put up with you in a car?"

"We'll be there soon enough, sunshine."

Sara shot him a cold stare. She actually like it when he used a pet name, but she thought it more flirty to play as though it angered her.

"And when we get there," Nick said, "You'll forget all about our little differences."

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Author's Note: About the Foo Fighters thing...I had to write a little of myself into Sara's character and that _darn song _was playing when I turned on MTV-2 while writing the beginning of this chapter. I just needed to express my frustration about it in a public forum. It did make for some snazzy banter, though.

WX


	6. Chapter 6

"Wow," Sara said flatly as she took in the sight of the motel. As she read the sign, laughter bubbled upward. "'The Bait and Hook!' That's beyond perfection!"

"It gets better, Sara." Nick chuckled.

"Better? How could it possibly get better?"

"Well, they only have one room with a hot tub. It's in the honeymoon suite."

"There's a honeymoon suite in a motel called 'The Bait and Hook?' I can't wait to see this!"

"I thought you'd enjoy the novelty. That's why I chose it."

"You're a fabulous person, Nick! Can we register under fake names? You could be Ozzy and I could be Harriet--or I could be Joni and you could be Chachi!"

"Or I could be Neo and you could be Trinity."

"How about if you're Beetlejuice and I'm Lydia?"

"Actually, Sara. I've already reserved the room under my real name. I'm sorry. If I had known…I would have probably still reserved it under my real name. I do have to use my credit card, after all."

"Buzzkill. I doubt that they would question 'Beetlejuice' using 'Nick Stokes's' credit card at a place called 'The Bait and Hook.'"

"Now to be fair, Sara, the name refers to the fact that this motel is the home-away-from-home to all of the people who come to the lake to participate in fishing tournaments."

"Well that's so logical that it spoils all the fun!" Sara punched Nick's shoulder playfully.

"I'll go check us in," Nick said as he turned to walk to the office.

"Oh, yeah. How much do I owe you for my half?"

"The room's on me if you buy the booze. Did you see that liquor store about a mile back?"

"Yeah."

Nick threw her his keys. "Why don't you drive over there and get us some beers or something?"

"Alone?"

"You're armed, aren't you?"

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"Ready?" Nick asked as he prepared to insert the key into the door to their room.

"Well, this beer isn't getting any lighter."

"Voila!" Nick threw open the door. He took the beer from Sara and placed it on the wobbly dining table.

"It's kind of run down," Sara said as she stepped inside and looked around, "Maybe 'The Bait and Switch' would be a better name."

"I don't know," Nick said, testing the firmness of the mattress with his hands, "I wouldn't say 'run down.'" He approached Sara, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her toward his body. "I'd say it's 'broken in.'"

Sara grasped Nick's hands and removed them from her hips. "Um, I'm not drunk yet, Nick."

Nick laughed. "Let's check out the hot tub, huh? It's on the screened-in porch. It has a great view of the lake…and there's a TV, too!"

They walked out onto the patio together.

"This looks like a completely different place!" Sara said as she turned on the tub. "It's really nice!"

"The manager told me that the whole thing was built only about two months ago. Check out the TV. It's a wide-screen with HD."

"You're not going to get a hard-on, are you?"

"What I'm going to get is a bucket of ice for the beers. You can control the remote--for now."

Sara watched Nick walk away. She was surprised by how uninhibited he was about flirting with her. Perhaps she would have to step up her own level of flirting.

She picked up the remote and turned on the television. She flipped through the channels until she found something that appeared to be at least moderately interesting. Then she went into the bathroom to get some towels. She was relieved that she didn't see any roaches scattering when she turned on the light.

When Nick returned with the ice, beers, and a couple of glasses Sara was seated on the edge of the hot tub, tightening her hairdo.

"You know, if this room weren't visible from the surrounding area, we could bathe in the buff." He raised his eyebrows repeatedly in a comedically exaggerated expression of seduction.

"Alas it is visible and we must remain clothed."

"Are you ready to get in?" Nick asked.

"The question, Nick, is whether you're ready for this jelly and I don't think you are."

"What?"

"My body's too bootylicious for you, babe," she sang, mustering up her best Beyonce impression.

"What?"

"Once again, you prove that country people have no taste in music." She began to remove the clothes that were covering her swimsuit. "Whether or not I'm ready, I need to get in. Perhaps the hot tub will calmmy lastnerve that you've decided to tap dance on."

"Please, Sara," Nick said as he took of his tee-shirt, "Don't mention me and the word 'dancing' in the same sentence. It makes my legs hurt worse at the thought." He bent over to remove his pants and when he stood, hesaw the type of bathing suit that Sara was wearing. "I never pegged you as the string-bikini type, Sara," he said, feeling slightly flushed. She looked incredibly sexy to him at that moment. She looked like a goddess.

"I'm not. Not really," Sara said, stepping into the tub, "A friend of my in Frisco gave this suit to me after she had gained a little weight. God. That was a lifetime ago. The fact that the suit hasn't been eaten awayby chlorine after all this time should tell you how often I go to the pool." She looked at Nick in his trunks and laughed. "Check it out, Nick. We match."

Nick looked down at his yellow trucks that had a blue floral print and then looked at Sara's blue bikini with yellow strings.

"I guess I should call Becky up and make a match, since the two of you have such similar taste in swimwear."

"I'm not interested." He raised both hands as he stepped into the tub and sat down, facing Sara. "I went on too many blind dates in college. So what did you find to watch on TV?"

"I'm not sure what it is," Sara replied, "At first I thought that it was _Law and Order_ because there was a dead body in the streets of New York City, but it must not be because they're showing all the forensic stuff and they don't go into that on _Law and Order_ unless it exposes that the guy they got in custody isn't the guy who did it--like they shouldn't be able to figure it out on their own." She scoffed."If they have a solid suspect at fifteen minutes into the show, he's not going to turn out the be the right guy."

"He it's Lieutenant Dan! I didn't know he was a TV star."

"His name is Gary Sinise and I think he does whatever tickles his fancy. He's a really good actor, too."

"Why do you say that?" Nick reached behind himself and poured a glass of beer.

"Ooh, give me one!" Nick gave her the glass he had poured and began pouring another. "Gary Sinise played in the mini-series adaptation of _The Stand_ and made you believe that he was actually attracted to Molly Ringwald."

"You know, I never thought she was pretty."

"Nor should any man equipped with functioning eyes--of course, women have much better taste in women than most men do."

"I'd take offense to that if it weren't true."

"Oh my God! Did you see that?"

"What?" Nick looked around, startled by Sara's sudden outburst.

"On TV. They had just ordered a DNA test and they got the results back, like, two minutes later. That's not the way DNA works! It takes days!"

"But, Sara," Nick said gently, "How boring would a television program be that actually showed a bunch of people having to wait around for days on DNA results?"

Sara squinted her eyes at Nick. "On a soap opera, it takes a whole week to get through a wedding ceremony--and they usually last about thirty minutes in real life."

"Well a prime time drama has to be much faster-paced because they come on at night and you don't want your audience falling asleep in the middle of your show."

"Okay. I'll concede that."

There was a long break in their conversation during which Sara and Nick watched the program. Sara guessed the killer correctly, but Nick was dead wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I just wanted to respond to EquestrianBabe. I don't mean to offend any country fans. When I wrote _that _stuff, it wasn't me inserting my own opinion as it was with the new Foo Fighters song (read my bio--I'm from Kentucky, so I cannot help liking at least some country music); I was writing what I believe that Sara would say. I believe that, in a completely relaxed environment, Sara would take any opportunity to get a rise out of Nick.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, Sara," Nick said as Sara began flipping channels to find something other than the news.

"Yes?" Sara replied uncomfortably. She didn't like the tone in which Nick began the conversation.

"I was just wondering…um…when we're in class…"

"Yes?" Sara was hoping that Nick would just spit out his question instead of making it drag on forever.

"You kind of look like you know what you're doing."

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice. But yes, I do sort of know what I'm doing." Sara looked away from Nick and back at the television. "Ooh, hey. 'People's Court.' I love that show!"

"No, Sara," Nick said, grabbing the remote from Sara's hand and turning off the television.

"Hey, I thought you had relinquished control."

"First of all, 'The People's Court' is a waste of HD. Second of all, I'm not going to let you change the subject so easily. Did you take ballet lessons?"

"Yes--well, sort of. One of my foster parents was a ballet instructor. She asked me if I was interested in trying it. I wasn't really, but she convinced me to try it for a week. I ended up falling in love with it because it was the most challenging thing I'd ever tried doing with my body. But then I had to move after only six months. It figures, you know? Of course I couldn't life for a longer time with someone I really liked." Sara shrugged and turned the corner of her mouth up into a half-smile. "That's the past, though. It's way past."

"There's something I don't understand, Sara."

"Shoot." She handed her glass to Nick so that he could refill it.

"Well…if you have experience with ballet, then why were you trying to drink yourself stupid on Monday night and why were you saying all that stuff about Grissom and Catherine wanting to make fools of us?"

"Ballet was always a private thing for me. Roberta--that was my foster mom's name--she always taught me privately and I would spend hours alone in the studio dancing around the way that girls do. I never danced in front of a crowd or anything. I guess I'm just scared that I'll look stupid. I work so hard trying to be the best and the smartest. My biggest fear is having everyone think that I'm stupid."

Nick didn't know how to react to what Sara had just told him. Sara had just exposed so much of herself and he knew that she probably felt more than a little vulnerable because of it.

"Sara, I--" He tried to summon his words forward. "You don't look stupid when you dance. You look beautiful and graceful. The way your body moves--you dance much better than anyone else in the class."

"But, Nick." Sara tried to hold back tears, but a few rebellious drops welled up in her eyes. "I feels so clumsy. I feel so awkward. I--I don't want to do this thing, the recital."

Nick switched his position in the tub so that he was seated next to Sara. He caught her first tears with his thumbs as they began to run over her cheeks. He kept his hands on each side of her face and turned her head so that she was completely facing him.

He almost leaned in to kiss her, but thought better of it. After a full evening of intense flirting and gauging of Sara's reaction, he felt confident that Sara was interested in him, but he didn't want to exploit her in a moment of weakness. He had too much respect for Sara to take such a cheap action. Instead, he pulled her head to rest on his chest and he rubbed her back softly.

"Sara, I won't make you do this recital if you're really too apprehensive about it. Maybe that Mrs. MacElroy will let us do a private performance of the routine. But, Sara, I just want you to know that if you'll go through with the recital, I'll work very hard to make sure that I don't cause you to look stupid." He grasped Sara's chin and turned her face upward. "You can trust me to do that."

Those words struck a chord in Sara. She sat bolt upright, giving Nick a bit of a start, and recited this proclamation: "You're right, Nick. This whole thing is designed to help us build trust and learn to work together. I'm tired of not trusting people. So I'm committing myself, right here and right now, to do all that I can to make us the best team at this conference."

"And I'll join you in that commitment."

Sara displayed her widest and most brilliant smile. Then she hugged Nick enthusiastically and kissed him on the cheek. "So how 'bout another beer?"

"Now, Sara," Nick said with concern in his voice, "You shouldn't drink too much. You don't want to have to do ballet with a hangover."

"Relax, Nick. I know my limits. I'm just going to get more drunk than tipsy and come short of falling-down-drunk. It's a delicate balance, but I mastered it in college. I'm almost there. This glass should do it."

Nick relented and poured Sara one last glass.

Moments later, Nick's cellular phone rang. Sara put a hand on Nick's chest to stop him from getting up to answer it. "I've got an idea. It's going to be funny," she said as she leaned over the edge of the tub to retrieve the phone from the pocket of Nick's pants, "I was this on TV once." She opened the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello. You've reached Nick's pants. He's not in them right now--"

Nick gasped as he grabbed the phone from Sara and held it to his own ear. "Sorry about that," he said as he shot Sara a glare, "Sara insisted on answering my phone."

"Is she drunk?" Greg asked. He had a little down time while waiting for a machine to process some evidence, so he thought that he would call and find out what kind of trouble Nick and Sara were getting into.

"A little," Sara said from next to Nick, "Why are you still screaming into that damn phone?"

"So are you really not wearing any pants?" Greg was in disbelief.

"I'm in my trunks, Greggo."

"So what's Sara wearing?"

"A swimsuit, duh."

"C'mon, Nick," Sara said, "Give him the whole story. He's getting an eyeful, Greg. I'm wearing a string bikini and, before you ask, I do, of course, look very hot. So if you'll kindly say your goodbyes, Nick and I can get back to the conversation that you so rudely interrupted."

"Actually Greg, my man, I do need to let you go. I think Sara and I are both in need of a little coffee so that we can sober up a bit. Later." He ended the call and turned off the power to his phone. He didn't think that he would likely receive any important phone calls and Greg's pestering was really starting to become a bother.

"Nick, please let me enjoy my drunkenness. It's so relaxing."

"Okay. I didn't really intend to make you sober up. I just wanted to get Greg off the phone and I thought that saying that we were going to sober up would keep him from spreading more gossip around the lab.

"A wise man you are, Nick." Sara raised her glass and then consumed the small amount of beer that was left in the bottom. "I guess we'd better get out now before we become human prunes whose muscles are so relaxed that they can no longer be controlled."

She carefully stood and turned away from Nick. Nick smiled and then reached up t pull Sara's bikini bottom from where it was wedged between her buttocks.

"Nick!" Sara exclaimed as she quickly turned to slap his hand. In her inebriated state, she took a spill over the edge of the tub.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Technical Author's Note: I don't know if "The People's Court" ever actually comes on at 11:00 at night. It comes on during the day on my local station. It gets shuffled around a lot here, though, so please play along.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh, my God!" Nick exclaimed as he quickly climbed out of the hot tub. "Are you okay, Sara?" He looked at Sara's expressionless face. "Sara?" He carefully moved her head to see if there were any open wounds (he felt safe in doing this because her fall did not look like the type that would cause a neck or back injury). There didn't appear to be any open wounds, which meant that Sara either had a closed injury or no injury at all. Nick hoped for the latter. "Sara, please be okay." He grabbed a towel and dried her before carrying her to the bed. "God, Sara. I didn't mean for this to happen. I was just trying to be cute." He stroked the side of her face with his hand and felt as though he were on the verge of tears.

"Gotcha," Sara said as she sat up and began to laugh.

"Wow, Sara. That's really not funny. I thought I hurt you."

"Well, you did. My head does hurt and so does my pride. A wedgie is a private matter, Nick."

"Sara, I don't know whether to be relieved or angry."

"Why not both?" She smiles slyly "You see, Nick, our clothes broke my fall and I was on top of them for some time, so now they're too wet for us to be able to wear them to bed."

"Oh, that's no big deal. Every motel on the planet supplies hair dryers." He walked into the bathroom and looked for the blow dryer. He found it in the cabinet under the wash basin. "It's a bit of a fossil," he announced to Sara, "But my mom still uses a hair dryer that is almost as old as I am." He plugged it in and flipped the power switch. Nothing. "Dammit!"

Sara giggled to herself and then said, "Looks like we're sleeping 'in the buff.'"

"Well, Sara," Nick said as he exited the bathroom, "You're not going to sleep for at least an hour. You bumped your head and, since there is no open wound, we've got to wait and see if there's any swelling."

"But Nick," Sara protested, "I'm sleepy."

"That's a symptom of a possible concussion. God. I hope you don't have a concussion. I don't want to have to explain this in an emergency room."

"Jeez, Nick, you're altruistic," Sara pouted.

Nick looked at Sara, who appeared to actually be upset.

"Sara." He didn't know exactly what to say. He didn't know how much of his feelings he should express to her. "I also hope that you don't have a concussion because I really care about you and I would hate to be responsible for you suffering a serious injury."

Sara smiled. She was glad that Nick admitted that he cared for her.

The warmth from the hot tub began to wear off and the cool nighttime air from the desert wafted in through the open door of their room. This combination caused Sara to shiver.

"Sara," Nick said awkwardly as he scratched behind his ear, "Um…I think it might help you warm up if you took off your damp bathing suit and got under the covers." He turned to step out onto the porch to get another towel. He was also beginning to get cold and he thought that he should try to dry off a bit as well--it would also give Sara some time to get undressed and under the covers without being seen.

Sara recognized Nick's cue and did exactly what she was expected to do to fill the time while Nick was outside.

Nick sifted through the pile of wet clothes. There was water everywhere. What Sara hadn't lain on, Nick had gotten wet when he hopped out of the tub. Even their bags had gotten wet in the ruckus.

He took each article of clothing and found a place to drape it. Whether they got dry in time for bed, he reasoned, they would at least be dry by the time they woke the next morning.

He stood frozen when he saw Sara's underclothes in her bag. He knew that she had undoubtedly packed some, but he was unsure of whether he should get them out. "Don't be an idiot," he mumbled to himself, "They're just clothes."

They were more than that, though. They were Sara's intimates. He pulled them out gently and draped them over the arm of a wicker chair. They were white and very plain. It made him smile. He pictured Sara as his little goddess in white underwear. That , to him, was much sexier than a goddess dressed in red or black. Flashy lingerie, he thought, only attempts to compensate for inadequate sexuality.

When he returned to the room, he saw Sara smiling at him from under the covers that were pulled up to her chin.

"Any warmer?" He asked, returning her smile.

"A little," Sara replied, still slightly shivering. A thought ran through her mind. A sexy urge hit her. She would have ignored it, had she not been so incredibly cold. "You know, Nick," she began. Nick cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. He could tell by her tone that she had something of interest to say. "I recall that on one of my favorite episodes of 'The X-Files,' Mulder brings up the fact that one of the best ways to generate body heat is to crawl naked into a sleeping bag with someone else who is already naked."

Nick's jaw dropped. "Sara," he said unsteadily, "I'm not sure whether I would be comfortable doing that."

"I wouldn't ask you to do it if I weren't so cold." Her teeth chattered a little as she spoke these words.

Nick stepped back out onto the porch to get his towel. He was incredibly nervous as he wrapped it around his waist and then removed his trunks. He was a little relieved to have them off because they were becoming cold and uncomfortable, but he was also apprehensive because he knew that, without the cold against himself, his body would be able to produce an erection.

He returned to the room. "Before you judge me," he began, "I want to first point out that men have certain natural reactions to touching a naked woman--hell, even being aware of the presence of a naked woman. I don't want you to think that I intend--"

"It's okay, Nick," Sara interrupted, "Remember, I'm the one asking you to do this."

He crawled under the edge of the covers, being careful not to raise them high enough to expose Sara's nakedness. He gulped audibly and then removed the towel from his waist. He crept closer to Sara.


	9. Chapter 9

Sara immediately pressed her body as tightly to Nick's as she could. Her skin was so cold. Nick rubbed her arms and back. When Sara curled into fetal position and rested her legs on top of the lower portion of Nick's torso, he began rubbing them as well.

He couldn't help but notice how soft and smooth her skin felt. That turned him on a little.

"By the way, Nick," Sara said, breaking the silence between them, "It was Sunday."

"What?" Nick furrowed his brows.

"You were talking about when I was wanting to get thoroughly drunk during the reception. That was Sunday night, not Monday."

Nick shrugged and looked at Sara. "I guess all of my days are running together." He smiled. "When all you do is dance day in and day out, that kind of happens."

Sara returned his smile, but continued to shiver a little. A quiet voice in the back of her mind asked her if she may have been in shock. She pushed that thought away. Her injury was not severe enough to send her into shock. I've just got a chill, she thought, I just need more body heat against my own.

"Nick." She looked into his eyes and then averted her gaze. She wasn't sure whether she could follow through with where her thoughts had led her. "I think this may work better if we lie chest-to-chest."

Nick knew that Sara would become acutely aware of his erection if he complied, so he began an internal dialogue to distract his mind from sexual thoughts.

_Unsexy things. Unsexy things. Okay…gym socks. Sweaty gym socks rolled up in my shoes. Tobacco. Baseball players chewing tobacco an spitting juice on the ground._

He rolled over to face Sara and continued to distract himself. He placed one arm underneath Sara and pulled her close. Sara almost immediately stopped shivering when their torsos touched.

She smiled shyly at Nick and then averted her eyes. She liked lying in that position, having Nick's body pressed against her own. A flush crept over her body and she felt the urge to start something with Nick, to tell him that she wanted to be more than friends.

Nick noticed that her skin felt warmer. "Is this actually working, Sara? Do you feel better?"

If only you knew how much, she thought as she looked at him and nodded.

"If you're warm enough, I can back away."

"You don't have to, Nick. This feels really nice."

I know, he thought, that's why I need to back away soon. If I don't, you'll surely find out how nice I think this feels.

Sara sighed contentedly and pulled herself closer to Nick. He could feel her breasts flatten against his abdomen and he could feel her stomach press against his pelvis.

Despite his best efforts, he was completely aroused.

He debated whether he should mention anything to Sara to lighten the mood. He was sure that Sara had noticed his current condition.

"This feels really nice," she said to Nick, "You're really warm."

Nick paused for a moment. He wasn't sure whether he should respond. "You're really soft," he said, "It's nice to hold you."

Sara was pleased with Nick's response. She considered countering it by saying that he was really hard, but she didn't want to embarrass him. Instead, she laid a gentle kiss on his chest and began stroking her fingers lightly along the length of his back, including in her path the very beginning of the curve of his buttocks.

She knew that Nick wouldn't agree to have sex with her that night, but she wanted to make her interest known and get the ball rolling.

Nick was slightly startled by Sara's action, but he wasn't completely surprised. He returned Sara's kiss on the top of her head and then he turned her face upward so that he could look into her eyes. She scooted up in the bed so that their faces were at the same height and she kissed him softly on the lips.

When they pulled apart from their first few kisses, Sara decided that she would put all of her cards on the table. "I love you, Nick," she said as she stroked the side of his torso, "I think I have for a long time."

"Oh, Sara," Nick replied and kissed her on her forehead. He grinned widely. "I love you more."

Sara and Nick filled several minutes with soft, yet intense, kisses. They were like two teenagers who had just learned how to kiss, becoming lost in one another. The contact was electric.

After a while, they pulled apart and Nick checked the time. According to the clock in their room, it was after midnight.

"Well, Sara. The hour's up. You can go to sleep now. Is there a bump?"

Sara felt of her head and then put on a frown. "No, but I don't want to go to sleep." She kissed Nick seductively beneath his ear and then decided to give his lobe a little nibble, for good measure.

"Sara if we don't sleep, we'll die tomorrow."

"Okay." Sara sighed and rolled over into her most comfortable sleeping position. She hadn't actually intended to stay awake for much longer.

"I'm going to wake us up every hour, though," Nick said as he rolled over to set the alarm clock, "I'll need to make sure that you remain lucid."

"Are you going to ask me my name and who's President and where do I work?"

"Something like that." He leaned over and kissed the back of Sara's head. After a few moments he said, "What time do you think we'll have to wake up to get to our first class?" Sara didn't respond to Nick's question. He sat up and looked at Sara. "Sure, you didn't want to sleep," he mumbled to himself and smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

"Nick," Sara began as Nick grasped her by the hips, "I don't know how to tell you this, but I am mortified of this situation."

"Sara, hon," Nick replied, "This thing is all about trust."

Sara wiggled her way out of Nick's grip. "I know that it's about trust, but it's also about skill and, in case you didn't know, newsflash: you've only been doing ballet for twelve days."

"Newsflash: our performance isn't even two days away. I thought you wanted to look good. We can't possibly do that if we omit certain bits of the choreography when we rehearse." Nick was beginning to feel very impatient with Sara. Only a week before, she had been excited about performing. She had gotten back into the swing of things and Nick had impressed her with his speedy ability to pick up new dance steps. Now she refused to rehearse one of the lifts in their routine. "You're going to have to do it on Sunday night, so why not do it now?"

Nick had her. She realized how silly she was acting. She knew that Nick was perfectly capable of doing the lift (in fact, he seemed tireless when they were rehearsing the other lifts in their routine). Why on earth would she be so nervous about this one?

Because I could fall on my head and be severely injured, she thought, yes, that could easily happen.

But didn't she trust Nick in much more dangerous situations? There had been times when she and Nick were completely alone at crime scenes and there was always a chance of the perpetrator returning. Didn't she trust Nick to have her back in case something bad happened? Yes, she did.

"You're right, Nick." Sara smiled warmly and Nick could feel the whole dance studio brighten (or did the sun come out from behind a cloud). "I've been very silly. It's just...wouldn't you be nervous if Warrick was going to lift you over his head and have you dangling eight feet in the air, practically upside-down?"

"Sara, it would make me nervous for Warrick to even touch my hips, let alone use them as a gripping point to hold me upside-down."

Sara giggled. "I guess that wasn't such a good example." Her giggles didn't completely wash away the seriousness of her face. She was still visibly worried.

"I get your point, though, Sara." Nick lowered his voice so that Sara would know that he wasn't joking. "I know it's a scary situation. Maybe we can go back to the hotel and I could put some cushions on the floor in case things get awkward or off-balance."

Sara shook her head decisively. "Lift me right now, Nick. I'm ready."

Nick grasped Sara's hips and hoisted her high above his head. She carafully arched her back and then slowly moved her legs to imitate the pose that they had seen on their instructional video. Nick walked slowly for a few steps and then lowered Sara gently to the floor.

"That really wasn't so bad," Sara said, smiling, "It was actually kind of fun."

"Do you want to practice it with the music?"

"No. Not yet. I think we need to work on the timing a little more. It took me a while to get into the right position. I'll need to be able to go there more quickly. Do you feel up to lifting me a couple dozen more times?"

"Sara, I've carried bags of horse feed that weighed more than you." Sara blushed. "Of course I can do it."

After about eight more tries, Sara had begun using one fluid movement to achieve the necessary position in the air. Before practicing the entire routine with musical accompaniment, Sara and Nick tried sandwiching the newly learned step in between the steps that preceded and followed it. They did one run-through of the entire performance before they called it a day and decided to return to the hotel.

"Do you think any of the other people are practicing as much as we are?" Sara asked as she slung her tote bag into the back seat of Nick's SUV.

"I don't know," Nick replied, "I haven't really been talking to much of anyone."

"Whenever I'm at the hotel, the floor is always filled with people and they never look very sweaty."

"I've kind of noticed that, too. And attendance has dropped in the regular ballet classes. Mrs. MacElroy's fit was really something today."

"I figured that people would show up more because there's only one class a day now, but I guess they think that they know enough to only have to practice the choreography. I guess they don't realize that even professional ballet dancers do the same barre work before they dance."

"No, Sara. Not everyone is a know-it-all like you."

Sara playfully punched Nick in his arm and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "So are we having dinner together tonight?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. I kind of have an errand that I need to run at the mall. My oldest niece is turning eighteen on next Sunday and I need to buy her something and send it in the mail soon so that it won't show up too late."

"How many nieces and nephews do you have?"

"I can't answer that question while I'm driving," Nick deadpanned.

Sara chuckled. "That many, huh?"

"I'm afraid so." Nick looked over at Sara and smiled.

"So I guess Christmas really does and number on your wallet, huh?"

"Not anymore." Nick smiled broadly. "At least not since I suggested that we do a Secret Santa for the big family Christmas. I'll let my brother and sisters buy presents for their own flocks of children. I only buy individual gifts for birthdays. Thank goodness they're all spread out. I try to make the gifts special, though."

"Do you already know what you're getting your niece?"

"I'm not sure what her real present will be--I guess I've still got some time to think about that--but I know what her gag gift will be."

"Gag gift? You know, if you're going to buy two gifts for their birthdays, you might as well throw in Christmas."

Nick smirked at Sara. "I only do gag gifts for milestone birthdays. That way they don't hate me; they just think I'm a little nutty."

"Only a little?"

Nick flashed another smirk and then shrugged his shoulders.

"So what's the gag gift?"

"A Raffi CD."

"A raffle CD?"

"Raffi. He was a popular children's singer in the mid nineties. When Caitlyn was eight years old, she would constantly whine about wanting some of his CDs, but my sister didn't think that she was old enough to take care of one--and she didn't want to have to buy Caitlyn her own CD player--so none of use were allowed to buy her a CD. By the time Caitlyn was deemed old enough to have a CD player, she no longer cared for Raffi." Nick paused and shook his head. "By then, she'd moved on to 'NSync." He feigned a shudder.

Sara pursed her lips to hide a smile. "So then why are you getting her the CD?"

"Because it's funny, Sara--and because it's probably pretty difficult to find. I'm a sucker for a quest."

"It still seems like somewhat of a waste to me." She raised an eyebrow to demonstrate her distaste.

"Don't worry, Sara. Caitlyn's younger brother Andrew is seven. I'm sure he'll get to use the CD--if Caitlyn doesn't listen to it in her car." Sara raised the same eyebrow, this time in amusement. "You haven't met Caitlyn. She's a little kooky--a fun kid. She'll get a big kick out of this."

Nick pulled into a parking space in the garage behind the Tangiers. "Do you want me to walk you to your room?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Have fun at the mall."

"I'll try."

Nick shifted into reverse and backed out of the space. He was pretty sure that he would end up having to buy the CD on the internet, but that didn't bother him. He was glad to have an excuse to spend a long time at the mall.

He was sure that Sara wouldn't suspect a thing.


End file.
